Day 1

Today I researched on how exactly to make a mesocosm. A mesocosm is an enclosed environment that should be able to live on its own without adding water or air. Some of the sites I visited were:

http://www.realestate.com.au/blog/make-a-self-sustaining-terrarium/

http://www.ehow.com/how_5164713_make-ecosystem-bottle.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bottle-Garden/?ALLSTEPS

From this, I made my plan on how i was going to set up my mesocosm. I decided to go for a terrestrial one instead of an aquatic, as the resources for a terrestrial mesocosm were more easily available. This was the method I was going to use.

1. Cut a hole in the side of a plastic 18.6L water bottle
2. Fill with small stones till you have a layer of about 5cm height
3. Fill with earth till you have a layer of about 20cm height
4. Add in the plants, firmly patting the soil around them.
5. Add a little water to the soil
6. Leave the mesocosm without sealing it off for a week, or until the plants seem to have adjusted to their new environment
7. Add any animals you have decided on. Count the amount of animals added and record it.
8. Seal off holes with duct tape
9. Record results every week, qualitative data including: growth of plants, growth of animals, any death of plants, condensation inside bottle
10.  At the end of the experiment, after a few months or so, open the mesocosm, and count the number of animals.

 I also set up my mesocosm today. I added 6 different types of plants: two different species of ferns, moss, grass, a plant with medium sized leaves and a plant with small leaves. I chose these plants because there were a lot of them in my garden, suggesting that they were more resilient and less likely to die. The gravel at the bottom was added for drainage, to make sure there wasn't too much water present.

An Inside View